has anyone heard of "Elimination Communication"? what do you think? have you tried it?

Question

it seems odd to me, but i'm curious... esp if it really has so many benefits as they claim
http://diaperfreebaby.org/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=61&MMN_position=14:14
benefits: http://diaperfreebaby.org/index.php?module=article&view=10&MMN_position=251:14

from what i understood, it's not really that they have control over them, but can communicate that they are about to go...?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/diaper_free_babies

Answer 1

I read the book on it, and I thought it was very interesting.

We practice a modified form of it with our daughter - she gets to run around "bare butt" for a few hours a day (to avoid diaper rash), and we monitor her signals during that time.

From the time she was 6 months old, she would wiggle to get down if she needed to pee or poop, then crawl over to a corner.

Now, she's 15 months old, and when she has a "bare butt", she walks over to her potty and says, "boop," and we give her a leg up.

She still has accidents, and she'll often sit on the potty just for the fun of it. But we don't criticize or make a big deal out of messes - we just clean up and move on.

EC is NOT potty training, and it does NOT expect children to have control over their elimination. It's parent training.

Most cultures, throughout history, have used some form of this. My husband is Zulu, and this is something that they do at home without any need for a special book.

Answer 2

When I know my son is about to do a poop, we do go sit on the potty. I don't take this type of thing to seriously, because he cannot control himself and I don't think he even recognizes the need to go yet, but I figure at least this way at 15 months, he is not afraid to sit and go potty, and it will only make the transition to true potty training easier. He has been sitting and going poop on the potty since he was about a year. It is just practice for the real thing later though. For this to be effective, it really is up to the parent - you have to read the cues the baby sends which can be really difficult because they have limited means of communication so many needs or wants are expressed in similar ways. Good luck if you do try it.

Answer 3

Yes, I have heard of Elimination Communication.

IMO, it is possible to use this method as early as newborn age. However, it is more about training the PARENT than it is about training the CHILD. The parent basically learns the child's pattern when it comes to urinating and defecating by time and other signals, and then takes the appropriate measures.

I have never used this method, and am not interested in trying it myself, personally. To each their own, though. Both of my children were potty trained (both day and night) before their second birthdays and that was good enough for me.

Answer 4

I think it's a great idea, and it's what people did before diapers (a recent invention.) But it has to be a lifestyle choice, one that can be difficult in our culture. You pretty much have to be with the baby all the time, and be attentive., at least in the beginning. Which of course is good anyway, but most people in our culture don't want to spend that much time with their babies -- they want them to be happy sitting alone for long periods of time, you know?

Anyway, I didn't do it, but we did dispense with the diapers early on. We put a potty in the living room, so that she had two places to go, and she caught on very quickly. There were accidents, but we have wood floors so they were easy enough to clean up. Some people would think that gross, but I felt it was preferable to her sitting in her own poo (talk about GROSS!) and getting rashes.

Answer 5

I read an article about it in Parent's magazine and the author of the article actually tried it with her infant.
She ended up giving up because she said "her life revolved around the potty." It sounded very inconvienent. As for me, I don't think the benefits outweigh the fact that the majority of my day would be spent trying to tell if my baby was about to use the bathroom.
And if, in fact, you do get a 6 month potty trained, how are they going to get to the potty? They can't walk yet, so you're still gonna have to take them to the potty...
I don't know...it just doesn't seem right to me.

Answer 6

I have a 6 month old son and we do it for poops with I'd say about an 80-85% accuracy rate. We don't bother with pees though. If he pees while he's pooping, great! But otherwise, he just pees way too much and without many signs that I can read at this point.

We use cloth diapers as back up.

Answer 7

It's not potty "training" it's more the parents being attentive and tuned in to their child.

I don't practice it religiously, but sometimes, if I see my son getting "that face" he makes when he goes poo, I take him to the toilet and let him go there.

I think it's a great thing to do. I don't think it will cause any "issues" as some people suggest.

Answer 8

I think it's silly. Children do not have control of their bodily functions until around 2 years old. They just want to save money on diapers.